


Lost and Found

by strata



Series: The Art of Falling [3]
Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)
Genre: Angst, Feels, Fluff, Friendship, I-LAND Episode 11, Implied Romance, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26409076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strata/pseuds/strata
Summary: The final moment before the end of the world.(Inspired by I-LAND Episode 11 Jakehoon.)
Relationships: Park Sunghoon/Shim Jaeyoon | Jake
Series: The Art of Falling [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919986
Comments: 4
Kudos: 61





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> ** episode 11 is sad because let's admit it, hanbin was great. BUT ALSO *angry sea lion noises* JAKEHOON **

One of them can always tell if the other is feeling low. It’s in the way a skinny body finds comfort in misshapen corners somewhere within I-LAND, trying to reform their jagged edges sharpened by harsh reality and its accompanying words. It’s not easy dulling them, and there are days when the edges cut deep, leaving in its wake something empty and cold. 

_Pick yourself up,_ someone somewhere says. What else can anyone do?

They arrived bright-eyed here. _Hopeful._ Their cheeks were radiant and full, but nowadays with debut so near, everyone’s gaze is lost, trudging around imagined futures that may never come true. The pantry is brimming with food but their cheeks are gaunt: the shadows of their fears manifesting outward, no longer just skin deep, a mantra of _what if I don’t make it?_

_I want to make it._

Jake remembers the exact moment he decided to take the risk, recalls the epiphany as it washed over him like a balm and made the road before his feet clear: _I want to be an idol._ Youngsters and adults alike always talk about the struggle of finding a goal, a dream; he hadn’t looked at all, and yet he found his. But maybe some goals and dreams are just candle wicks, bright at their best but doomed, in the end, to turn into dust. 

_“I’ll root for you guys when you debut.”_

He can’t look at anyone and anything. The couch is more relatable, drab and gray, the way Jake feels now, washed out and faded. He wants to debut, but it’s difficult. And he can’t help but think: who gets to say what is best, and what’s not best? Doesn’t his own definition of best count too?

_“Jake.”_

Everyone has gone except Sunghoon, and his voice isn’t playful. Instead, it’s soft; _gentle_ like an unexpected hug when you need it the most. Jake still doesn’t look, traces the lines of the sofa instead: curved and indirect much like his future here, still unsure. 

_“I’ll miss you guys.”_

The touch of silken hair that’s not his own against his temple is a comforting coolness: it’s strange to see it that way, but it’s like a nudge of awareness, of _I’m here, you know._ Sometimes it’s hard to remember that they’re in this together. That they have the same dreams, and feel the same things. 

_“We’ll keep going.”_

Should they? But the world is so cruel. Living is like walking through clay, clawing at muck. You try and you tire but you don’t get very far, stuck in the same space, helpless. 

_“Jake. Look at me.”_

Jake sighs. Hesitates. What will he see there? Agreement that it’s his time to go? Pity? He doesn’t need any of those. He’s not sure what he needs, but it’s not either of the two. Only one way to find out of course. Lifting his head, he feels Sunghoon do the same, strands of their hair intertwining like vines in love, all delicate and tender. And then it’s skin on skin, foreheads touching, faces so close they’re breathing each other’s air. For a moment though, Jake can’t breathe. 

And that’s because Sunghoon looks at him, and Sunghoon _believes._

 _“We’ll make it,”_ Sunghoon tells him in a whisper, their eyes bordering shy but finding enough courage not to turn away. Is this _too close?_ If it is, then what a nice view. Is this what Jake’s been missing? Why, he’s been missing a lot. 

_“We’ll make it,”_ he repeats eventually, just as softly. It’s a promise, and Sunghoon’s lips curl into a smile, tiny at first, just the first rays of the sun turning the sky violet-orange-pink and drifting from the window into the bed covers. But then it brightens, warm and inviting, and Jake realizes that yes, this is what he’s missing. 

But he’s found it. 

_He’s found it._


End file.
